Hits and Misses: Art All Day in Trenton; Low turnout on Election Day

HIT: The entire city of Trenton being transformed into one huge art gallery today as Artworks hosts its annual Art All Day celebration. artworkstrenton.org/art-all-day.

HIT: Five-year- old Jackson resident Anthony Russo attempting to become the youngest person to complete a half-marathon as he participates in today’s 13.1-mile journey through Trenton and Morrisville, Pa.

MISS: The struggling Atlantic City casino industry reaching a dubious milestone this week: Half of its 12 casinos have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past six years.

HIT: Trenton Health Team staff member Patricia Ni’ma being recognized with an Outstanding Service Award by the Trenton chapter of the NAACP at its 100th anniversary celebration. Trenton Health Team is an alliance of the city’s major providers of healthcare services including Capital Health, St. Francis Medical Center, Henry J. Austin Health Center and the city’s Health Department.

MISS: The estimated voter turnout of 38.8 percent was the lowest for any November general election in which a statewide office – governor or U.S. senator – topped the ballot, according to Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

HIT: The Department of Veterans Affairs said it is making substantial progress reducing the backlog of disability claims that has bedeviled it for years, and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is confident of reaching his goal to eliminate the long waits by 2015.

HIT: Trenton natives Michael Hilton and Ayesha Green being inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame this Thursday.

MISS: The lines are growing deeper across New Jersey at soup kitchens, some volunteers say, in the wake of recent cuts to the federal food stamp program.

HIT: Musicians from the defunct Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra creating the New Jersey Capital Philharmonic Orchestra with a new conductor, new management, revised marketing strategies and plans for a New Year’s Eve concert at the War Memorial.

MISS: Scientists studying the terrifying meteor that exploded without warning over a Russian city last winter say the threat of space rocks smashing into Earth is bigger than they previously thought.

HIT: In Princeton’s first credit rating since the borough and township consolidated in January, Standard & Poor’s gave it a AAA bond rating — the highest possible ranking — in a recent report. Only 3 percent of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities have that highest rating.